Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Thanx guys, from what I have seen already, this seems like a great place to spend my time. I never realized that so many people were as interested as me in city skylines, job growth, proposed builds and so forth.

God bless Jacksonville, Fl !!!

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I second that, ResidentJaxAss (i love that name lol!), and it's amazing how many people are interested in downtown Jacksonville alone. I can't wait for these projects to come into fruition, especially the new library!

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Laura Place(2 old builings on left) and Barnett Tower(right). All three historic towers are planned for restoration. As part of the Laura Place project, a new 10 story office building, parking garage, and pocket park will fill the empty space shown here.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

yeah, luckily they're forcing all future parking garages to have street level retail. The master plan also calls for major parking garages to be located on the outside of downtown, adjacent to skyway stations. The hope is to densify downtown, by infill building projects and for people to park their cars in the garages and ride the skyway into town since there won't be a lot of available parking spaces downtown.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Is the Kings Avenue Garage (connected to skyway) being used? I know it's probably below expectations, but is it like less than 50% occupancy? I'm sure more people will start to use it. Just wondering...

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I don't think the Kings Avenue garage is being fully used. It was built a couple of years before its time in my opinion. Because it isn't directly accessible off of I-95, for the most part it takes longer to drive to it, park your car, walk to the skyway station, and ride the skyway than it does just to drive and search for a parking space downtown. However, as the area continues to see infill developments replace surface lots and parking rates continue to rise, it will become more important.

In addition to what could become the city's tallest buildings, a downtown committee also approved designs last week for more projects.

Among projects reviewed by the Downtown Development Authority Design Review Committee:

Stadium District Parking Garages

Final design approval for the proposed parking garages at the arena and sports complex.

Ashley Oaks Mixed Use Complex

Final design approval for Ashley Oaks, a mixed-use development at Ashley and Jefferson streets next to Clara White Mission in La Villa. Plans show a three-story building with 8,161 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and two floors of one-bedroom apartments, comprising 10 units per floor. Administrative offices also are shown on the site. CWN Inc. is the developer.

LaVilla Bistro

Final design approval for Jax Casual Dining, a 7,921-square-foot restaurant at Beaver, Davis, Madison and Union streets in La Villa.

Rail City Junction

Conceptual approval for Rail City Junction, a 1.9-acre site at 1740 E. Adams St. comprising 24 refurbished rail-cars used as office and entertainment. The $8 million project, planned under a Hart Bridge ramp, could be completed in October.

As we reported on Friday, the committee approved the conceptual designs for the proposed Waterside Condominiums, two 48-story towers on the Southbank of the St. Johns River, on either side of the Aetna building at 841 Prudential Drive.

Krook Douglas Development LLC, affiliated with the ownership group of the Aetna property, proposes to build 550 residential units among the towers. Developers have not decided whether to build apartments, condominiums or a mix. If condos were in that mix, prices would start less than $200,000.

Developers said it was too early to discuss whether they would seek city incentives, although the city has issued incentives for most recent downtown housing deals.

South Shore Group Partners LLC, led by Jeffrey Douglas and Hal Dodt, bought the Aetna building for $39 million in January. The investors said after the acquisition that they wanted to build one or two 200- to 250-unit high-rise residential buildings along with a marina.

It could take three years to complete the towers, developers said last week.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

The $1.4 million project will turn Bay into a one-way street between Main and Liberty streets and provide streetscaping improvements to the north side of the street in its first phase.

In a brief presentation, Peyton stressed the importance of the redevelopment to Downtown as a whole and said the first phase of the project would be complete before Super Bowl XXXIX in February 2005.

Improvements to the south side of Bay Street would begin after the Super Bowl, said mayoral press secretary Heather Murphy, and would match the landscaping, historical lighting and on-street parking set for the street's north side.

"I'm very confident Jacksonville is going to be fantastic for the Super Bowl," said Peyton. "We want to have this corridor done [before February]."

There are currently no requests for proposals outstanding for the project, and city officials say they have not yet decided how the construction project will be handled.

"We're talking about a number of ways we could do it," said Al Battle, managing director of the Downtown Development Authority. "The property owners could contract directly with the city."

Battle said such an arrangement could lead to a faster turnaround time than if the project were handled through a standard bidding process.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I can't wait for the Bay Street project to finish up. The citizens of Jacksonville have been waiting a long time for an urban entertainment district. I do wish, however, that the made Bay Street a two way street instead of a one way.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Yeah, the one way thing kinda disappointed me. I find that it's less pedestrian friendly. And if they ever wanted to extend the Skyway, I had hoped that the support columns would be located in a central median, which is now out of the picture, due to the one way plan. Eventually, I'll draw-scan-upload my plan for the median/Skyway thingee. And I think it might look a little weird, only doing one side of landscaping and waiting a while to do the other...lol

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

It sounds like your plan is similar to the metrorail sytem in Miami. I think the future skyway route will most likey go on the south side. It will be interesting to see if the plans for Bay Street even take it (the skyway) into consideration.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

They are having a lottery on April 24th to sell the remaining units. People who purchase condos will be able to get a free helicopter ride. BTW, I rode by the site today, and they now have a coming soon sign up with the rendering on it. 1661 Riverside, in Five Points, also has a coming soon sign up too. I filled out a form for more info on the Riverside project, but I'm still waiting for the stuff to come in the mail.